Investigating Climate Change Effects on Early Spring Plant-Pollinator Networks : The Start of a Long-Term Monitoring Study

Abstract

For early spring wildflowers in Wisconsin, global climate change may lead to warmer, drier climates with more day-to-day variability, which in turn can impact flower and pollinator phenology, plant-pollinator network structure, and reproductive security for plants and pollinators. Inter-annual changes to plant-pollinator interactions are often only noticeable with long-term data sets. Here, we present our goal to establish a multi-year study monitoring plant-pollinator interactions in early spring wildflowers in Putnam Park. We will use AutoPollS (Autonomous Pollinator Samplers) camera traps with temperature sensors to record flower visitors to early spring wildflowers. We will deploy six camera traps with four cameras from the start of bloom through mid-May, aiming to document all flowering species. After we collect images of flower visitors, we will filter out images with insects and use BeeMachine to identify flower visitors. To analyze our data, we will use bipartite plots to evaluate network dynamics and complexity and link temperature with pollinator activity and wildflower phenology. Over time, we will evaluate multi-year patterns and evidence of climate change-mediated shifts to plant-pollinator interactions. We expect as the climate warms, spring wildflowers will bloom earlier, bloom duration will decrease, and pollinators will shift their dietary preferences in response.